To: Anywhere
by Dial-Up Cyborg
Summary: Lee has a valentine's box for Sakura, but she already has a valentine. Lee is discouraged until he meets a girl who has been rejected by her potential valentine as well. As a friendship blossoms, can a romance eventually bloom? One-shot.


**Disclaimer: I swear I don't own Naruto, and I can guarantee that I don't make a profit off of this. This is just a little something for Valentine's Day. Enjoy!

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The freshly fallen snow crunched under his weight, as Lee made it his personal mission to find Sakura. In his arms he lovingly cradled a box; a heart shaped box that shined bright red and was bound with a soft ribbon bow. He had picked it out especially for this moment, this holiday, just for her.

Lee had woken up that morning feeling optimistic. He had kept the box, which he had bought a day in advance, on his kitchen table so that he would be sure to see it and wouldn't forget. But it was unlikely he would have needed the reminder anyway. Lee had trouble going to sleep from his excitement, and his dreams only depicted his perfect vision of the next day.

It was February fourteenth. Valentine's Day. And today was the day Lee would win Sakura's heart.

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It had started to snow again. Lee would occasionally shake his head and pat himself down to brush the snowflakes off of himself. He didn't want to look any less than his best for when he gave Sakura her valentine. He had checked nearby her house, but Sakura didn't seem to be home. He tried checking with lady Tsunade to see if she was busy, but Tsunade had told Lee that Sakura hadn't stopped by today. So soon Lee found himself wandering the village aimlessly in circles, unsure of where to stop next.

After what felt like forever, Lee perked up. He could hear a familiar girlish giggle somewhere not far off. He craned his neck in each direction, his ears alert for any more signs of her location. Then he saw her- or rather, he could see the back of her head among a sea of people. Her pink hair stuck out from the rest, and Lee would be able to catch up to her now. He began to push his way carefully through the crowd, trying to get closer, closer.

Just as Lee was near enough to see her back, an arm had draped itself around her. Lee felt a pang of jealousy, and his eyes darted to see whom the arm was connected to. A shiver involuntary crawled down his spine and his heart seemed to skip a beat. The arm was Naruto's.  
"Naruto, I'm impressed!" He heard Sakura say, a note of admiration in her voice. "You really have changed, haven't you?"

"Well, I guess. If you say so, I mean." Naruto stammered nervously. He seemed blown away with the fact that he was Sakura's valentine.  
Sakura reached into her bag and handed Naruto a small package, wrapped in pink paper with a red envelope attached. "For you." She smiled, placing the present in Naruto's hands. His face was a wide grin now.

"Y-you got me something? Wow, thanks Sakura!" He chuckled gleefully to himself.

"Well, I couldn't just not give you something! I even got Kakashi-sensei a card." Sakura said matter-of-factly. Naruto looked down at his gift with a little uncertainty, until she added, "But I think yours is more personal."

Naruto tried to open the present with a level-headed attitude, but after discovering how well Sakura had taped it shut he grew impatient and tore the paper off more excitedly. It was a package of instant ramen. Naruto looked thrilled as Sakura smiled a little proudly to herself about Naruto's reaction.

Lee watched them for only a moment longer, before casting his eyes downward at the gift he had for Sakura. He had gotten there too late. Normally, Lee would continue to pursue his goal, but Sakura looked so... happy. He couldn't take that away from her. For now, Naruto had won.

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Lee had taken himself to the nearest training post. It wasn't the one he usually went to, but maybe a few punches and kicks at a training dummy would take his mind off of Sakura. He found himself in a clearing surrounded by large trees, their bark scarred with the cuts of kunai knives. He laid his heart-shaped box somewhere safe by the base of one of them. What could Lee do with it? He could give it to one of his teammates, but then he wouldn't have anything to give to the other, and that would seem rude. Or Lee could offer it to Gai-sensei, but the older man was away on a mission right now. Then he could always keep it for himself, but that seemed like the most depressing option of them all. Lee would have to think about it.

He had not even begun training, when Lee heard someone approaching. He looked over his shoulder to see a girl walking by, her head hung low in shame and her trembling hands holding something close. She didn't seem to notice anyone else was nearby, and plopped into the snow so that it buried her knees. In her hands was a red card shaped like Lee's box, and she clutched it so tightly that it crumpled. Hiding her face, the girl began to cry as softly and quietly as humanly possible. It then occurred to Lee that she looked familiar somehow.

"M-miss...?"

The girl gasped, and turned her blushing face to look at him before squeaking and covering it back up again. In that small glance Lee recognized Hinata, his rival's cousin.

"I am sorry to have startled you miss, but... why are you crying?" Lee asked, keeping his voice at a soothing tone. She wiped her eyes, and tried to look at him again.

"It's n-nothing. I'll be alright." Hinata said weakly. Lee watched her as she tried to hide the redness in her face. He looked over at the card she had crumpled, and took the liberty of picking it up and smoothing it out. Hinata's eyes widened in fear. "D-don't!" She spoke too late. Lee saw that the card had been addressed to Naruto.

"Naruto, huh?" Lee's mind wandered to the memory of Naruto and Sakura on their date. He knew why Hinata was crying now.

"P-please don't t-tell anyone this." Hinata begged. Lee nodded and returned the card to her. She immediately stashed it in her coat, so no one else would discover her secret. Then Lee spoke up.

"You saw them too, did you not?" He asked, his voice barely a whisper. The sadness was making him crack.

"W-what?" Hinata hadn't expected Lee to keep talking, but she knew what he meant. "Oh. Well, um, I saw him... with... Sakura." She looked down at her lap. "How did... you know?"

Lee gave her a friendly smile. "I want to show you something. Please, wait just a moment." He sprinted over to where he had kept his box, and returned within a brief minute. Lee placed the box in Hinata's lap, and her cheeks turned red again.

"Wh-what?"

"Look at the address." Lee suggested. Hinata did and saw that the candy had been meant for Sakura.

"Oh. I see... now." Hinata looked sympathetically back at Lee. "I'm so sorry, Lee... it must hurt so much..."

Lee remained still and silent, his memories still reminding him of Sakura and Naruto. He only nodded to Hinata's words after she had waited for his response for a minute.

Hinata placed the lid back on securely, and tied the ribbon just as neatly as it was before. She tried to hand him back his present, but Lee pushed it back onto her lap.

"Please, take it." He said, looking into her face. "I do not need it."

"A-are you sure?"

"I am positive."

"Oh. Well, um..." She slipped the wrinkled card out of her coat again. "Then please... take this... in return."

Lee graciously accepted.

"Um. Th-thank you." Hinata finally smiled, and blushed just a little. Lee bowed his head.

"You are welcome." He said. "May I escort you?"

"Uh... t-to where?"

"Anywhere you would like!" He smiled brightly.

"W-well, I guess, I guess..." Hinata blushed furiously. "We could... well, we could..." Lee waited with the patience of a saint while Hinata found her words. "We could go take a walk... around..." She finally finished, nervously waiting for his approval of the idea.

"Where shall we walk?" Lee asked cheerfully.

"A-anywhere... you would like." Hinata said shyly, quoting Lee. He grinned and took her gently by the hand, causing Hinata to look away in embarrassment. Lee noticed and looked worried. He let go.

"I am sorry if that bothered you." He apologized. Hinata shook her head.

"No... its fine... I'm just... not... used to this. That's all. Really."

Lee cautiously took her hand again, and they began their walk to anywhere together.

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**Edited: I took the time after comparing my format with other fanfics to change the spacing, making my story easier to read. Also, some punctuational errors and a typo were fixed. I would appreciate it if you took a little extra time for my efforts to comment my story. Please and thank you very much! -Dialup Cyborg**


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